C-Viche, the long-awaited Ibero-American small plates restaurant at 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View, has announced it will open to the public on Thursday, Jan. 21.
The restaurant, which will seat about 52 customers – including 16 at the hand-crafted bar – is a labor of love for owners Karlos Soriano and Paco Villar. The two actively participated in every aspect of the remodel, from the gutting of the building – which formerly housed Lovely Salon – to interior details, which include a wall made from recovered wooden pallets that Villar hand-stained and handmade tables.
The menu
The menu, which will be executed by Edgar Aispuro, formerly of Harbor House, will feature six types of ceviche, including styles from Peru, Mexico and Ecuador. A vegetarian ceviche will feature lupini beans marinated with lime and Peruvian peppers.
Appetizers, priced $5-8, will include dishes like fried yucca with Huancaina cream sauce; Mexican style corn smothered with sour cream, lime, chipotle mayo and cotija cheese; patatas bravas con chorizo, fried potatoes with house-made chorizo; and Peruvian anticuchos, grilled skewers of beef heart.
Salads will include a salted cod salad from Brazil, a Portuguese tuna salad and a Bolivian salad with quinoa, vegetables and greens in tangy lime dressing, all priced between $4-8.
Sandwiches, priced $8-11, will include a variety of panini with fillings like grilled vegetables, chicken mole and Peruvian hangar steak with huancaina mayo and a fried egg.
Entrees, priced $10-18, will showcase Brazilian fiejoada, a stew made with bacon, pork ribs, pork loin and Italian sausage; Argentinian churrasco featuring grilled sirloin served with chimichurri sauce; Portuguese arroz con Mariscos, a rice dish with sea bass, squid, shrimp and mussels; and Mexican Baja-style fish tacos.
Meanwhile, diners can finish off their meal with desserts like tres leches cake, plantain-filled empanadas and chocolate flan, each priced $4-6 each.
The bar will showcase eight cocktails made with pisco, brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile, along with the classic pisco sour.
Winter hours for C-Viche, starting Jan. 21, will be Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. (with a special late night menu after 11 p.m.); and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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